America’s Most Notorious Kidnappings That Shocked a Nation

The United States has seen many famous kidnapping cases throughout the years. In many cases, the missing persons were recovered alive, while other cases remain unsolved to this day. The rationale for taking a child ranges from emotional and mental health issues and family disputes to revenge and ransom demands. The first kidnapping for ransom in the U.S. occurred in the late 19th century when brothers Charley and Walter Ross were taken from their Philadelphia neighborhood. Charley was never found.

In recent years, roughly 460k missing children are reported each year, though most of these are runaways or family issues, not abductions. Stranger abductions are actually quite rare. Some kidnappings are very short-lived, but others last for years. Sometimes the victim is returned, sometimes they escape, and other times they are killed or are never found.

To create a list of America's most notorious kidnappings that shocked a nation, 24/7 Tempo consulted different crime-related sources. These include the Library of Congress blog, People, and WatchMojo.

This post was updated on September 16, 2025 to clarify missing child stats, Dugard's length of captivity, details of the Chowchilla kidnapping, and recovery of Adam Walsh's remains.

• Kidnapper(s): Richard Hauptmann
• When it happened: March 1, 1932
• Who was kidnapped: Charles Lindbergh Jr. – son of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh

Richard Hauptmann took a ladder and climbed into the Lindbergh home, taking little Charles Jr from his room. He allegedly kidnapped the baby with the hopes Charles Lindbergh Sr. would pay a massive ransom for his safe return.

A ransom of roughly $50k was paid before the child's body was found; despite this, the child likely died the night of the kidnapping. Hauptmann was convicted in 1936 and maintained his innocence up until the moment of his execution. Evidence included ransom notes, marked gold certificates, and forensic wood analysis linking ladder wood to his attic.

• Kidnapper(s): The 'Ndrangheta Group (Calabrian 'Ndrangheta)
• When it happened: July 10, 1973
• Who was kidnapped: John Paul Getty III – grandson of Jean Paul Getty

The kidnap took place in Rome and there was an initial ransom demand of $17 million. At first, the family suspected that it was the 16-year-old himself behind the crime but changed their minds when a human ear came in the mail. Eventually, $2.2 million was paid and Getty III was promptly returned.

However, he needed surgery to attach his ear and spent the rest of his life struggling with drugs and alcoholism. Nine people were arrested from the organized crime group, but only two went to prison.

• Kidnapper(s): Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee
• When it happened: June 5, 2002
• Who was kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (religious motive)

It has been suggested that the majority of kidnapping victims who aren't taken for financial reasons are murdered within 48 hours of abduction. In Elizabeth Smart's case, she spent nine months in captivity. Mitchell had done work in the past for the Smart family, which is why he knew about his victim. Brian Mitchell believed he was a prophet when he took her.

During the time of her captivity, she moved back and forth between California and Utah. Smart was rescued in Sandy, Utah on March 12, 2003, while walking down the road with Mitchell. Her sister, who recognized "Immanuel" (Mitchell), led to composite art and tips. Smart has gone on to be an author and advocate for survivors of similar crimes.

• Kidnapper(s): Phillip and Nancy Garrido
• When it happened: June 10, 1991
• Who was kidnapped: Jaycee Lee Dugard (sexual motive)

Dugard was abducted from a bus stop in California. For 18 years, she was held in a backyard compound of the Garrido's home. During this time, she gave birth to two daughters. As time went on, Dugard was given more freedom to be inside the home of her abductors. Dugard and her daughters accompanied Phillip Garrido to the University of California, Berkeley where he was giving a speech on religion at the campus.

During this appointment, all three girls acted odd. UC Berkeley campus police later questioned Garrido, who was seeking a permit, which triggered parole scrutiny. Once rescued, Dugard sued the state of California for negligence due to parole agents missing red flags. She's gone on to live a quiet and peaceful life.

• Kidnapper(s): James Schoenfeld, Richard Schoenfeld, and Frederick Newhall Woods IV
• When it happened: July 15, 1976
• Who was kidnapped: 26 children (financial motive)

Kidnapping one person is hard enough. Imagine trying to take 26 children and one adult simultaneously. This is what happened during the Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping. Three men took the group of mostly children with hopes of pulling in tons of ransom money.

The kidnappers moved the group of children into a buried moving van, where they remained for roughly 16 hours. The adult bus driver helped the group of children escape about 27 hours after they were first abducted. All survived, but some struggle with PTSD today. The group of men who kidnapped these children (Woods, Richard, & James Schoenfeld) were sentenced to prison, but they have all been released on parole as of 2024.

• Kidnapper(s): Kenneth Parnell
• When it happened: December 4, 1972
• Who was kidnapped: Steven Stayner (sexual motive)

Being kidnapped at only seven years old, Steven Stayner was held captive for an additional seven years. Stayner wasn't taken for ransom money. His kidnapping was fueled by inappropriate sexual deviancy. By the time Stayner turned 14, he had grown out of the boyish look his captor wanted.

Kenneth Parnell wanted to look for another young boy to abduct, but still keep Stayner for himself. He succeeded and brought home Timothy White. Stayner knew what was going to happen to the young boy. Rather than watch White suffer with what was done to him, Stayner helped the duo escape successfully.

Stayner, at the age of 24, was married with two children when he was killed in a motorcycle accident (his older brother Cary became known on his own for murdering four women and is currently on Death Row in California awaiting his execution.)

White spent his life talking to children about constantly being safe and aware to avoid a fate like his. He died in 2010 from a pulmonary embolism.

• Kidnapper(s): Unknown
• When it happened: January 13, 1996
• Who was kidnapped: Amber Hagerman (motive unknown)

Even though she was murdered shortly after her abduction, Amber Hagerman's legacy lives on today. She was taken from an abandoned grocery store lot in Arlington, Texas after her little brother went home and she remained. Four days later, her body was discovered. As of 2024, the perpetrator and motive are still unknown. The family felt that since she was taken from a public area, someone should have seen something.

After this tragedy took place, her case inspired the AMBER Alert, which was created by broadcasters/law enforcement with significant family advocacy. This is a program that alerts nearby citizens of possible abductions. The information that's released is the car the child is in, a description of the child, and anything else that might lead to a safe recovery. This program has helped save countless lives since its inception. It's become easier and easier with the increase in technology capabilities.

• Kidnapper(s): Unknown
• When it happened: July 1, 1874
• Who was kidnapped: Charley Ross (probably financial motive)

Kidnappers enticed four-year-old Charley Ross and his six-year-old brother Walter with candy and fireworks. It is the first example of someone being kidnapped with a ransom motive in American history. The suspect thought the Philadelphia family could pay the ransom with ease. Law enforcement advised against the family paying this ransom.

After multiple attempts to meet the kidnappers with money and countless conversations back and forth, all communication stopped. Nobody knows what happened to Charley or where he ended up. Bill Mosher, Joe Douglas, and William Westervelt were seen as likely culprits in the kidnappings. Westervelt spent time in jail for conspiracy, but nobody has ever been formally charged with the crime.

• Kidnapper(s): Pat Crowe
• When it happened: December 18, 1900
• Who was kidnapped: Eddie Cudahy (revenge and financial motive)

After being fired for theft from a store owned by the Cudahy family, Pat Crowe kidnapped sixteen-year-old Eddie Cudahy and immediately demanded his father pay a hefty $25,000 ransom. In the note, the kidnapper referenced the Charley Ross case, as the police detectives advised Ross' father against paying the ransom. Cudahy's father followed the instructions sent by Crowe, against the advice of the police.

Cudahy was returned safe and unharmed after the ransom was paid out, but this was not the end of it. Many national newspaper outlets questioned whether the ransom should've been paid right away. The reason some were against it was the thought that it could lead to more kidnappings for ransom happening. Crowe was captured in 1905 living in Montana after four years on the run. Cudahy went on to become part of the board of Cudahy Packing.

• Kidnapper(s): Symbionese Liberation Army
• When it happened: February 4, 1974
• Who was kidnapped: Patty Hearst (political motive but became more complicated)

The group that kidnapped Patty Hearst was the Symbionese Liberation Army. At first, the group wanted to use Hearst's family connections to free some of their members. Her family was known for being in the publishing industry, giving them a lot of money and influence in Hollywood.

When this was denied, SLA demanded a massive food distribution; the Hearst family funded People In Need (PIN), pledging $2 million, but it wasn't enough. Within two months of being taken, in what was believed to be a case of Stockholm Syndrome, Hearst announced she joined the group as a member. She committed numerous crimes, including robbing a bank for the group.

Hearst was sentenced to 35 years in prison for this crime. Later on, she was released by Jimmy Carter (1979) and fully pardoned by Bill Clinton (2001). She claimed she had been brainwashed by the group, only committing the crimes to stay alive.

• Kidnapper(s): Ottis Toole
• When it happened: July 27, 1981
• Who was kidnapped: Adam Walsh (violence)

Nearly everyone in the United States has seen "America's Most Wanted" at some point in time. However, this show didn't come to fruition under happy circumstances. Adam Walsh was taken in 1981, and his severed head was found weeks later; his body was never recovered. Ottis Toole confessed to the crime but recanted this confession later on. The case was officially posthumously attributed to Toole in 2008.

After this tragic event, John Walsh (Adam's father), created and hosted the now-famous show, America's Most Wanted. The purpose of the program was to inform the nation of dangerous people who are still on the loose. Thanks to the show, more than 1,200 criminals have been taken into custody.

• Kidnapper(s): Ariel Castro
• When it happened: August 23, 2002-April 2, 2004
• Who was kidnapped: Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus (sexual abuse motive)

Knight, Berry, and DeJesus were all taken within two years of each other, kidnapped by Ariel Castro in Cleveland, Ohio. The three would be held together until 2013. Berry and her daughter, whom she had given birth to in captivity, escaped. They got the attention of multiple neighbors who called 911 on their behalf.

During their time in Castro's home, he made them stay in a dark room, abused them, and treated them like animals. Castro was famously arrested shortly after the trio escaped. Castro committed suicide one month into his prison sentence. Knight, Berry, and DeJesus have gone on to live lives they can be proud of after enduring terrible conditions for such a long time.

• Kidnapper(s): Unknown
• When it happened: August 23, 1912
• Who was kidnapped: Bobby Dunbar (unknown motive)

Parents of kids who have been kidnapped will go to great lengths to try to get their children back. Bobby Dunbar was taken at the age of four in 1912. After months of searching for him, the family and police thought they found him in Mississippi, but it appeared that he was Dunbar's lookalike who was the son of William Cantwell Walters and Julia Anderson.

His family and law enforcement claimed it was Dunbar, but Anderson denied this. She couldn't afford a lawyer, so the court ruled he was going to go back to the Dunbar family. Walters was then convicted of kidnapping Dunbar. However, modern science proved Anderson's claim that it was her son and not Dunbar. As of 2024, the truth of what happened to Bobby Dunbar remains a mystery.

• Kidnapper(s): Barry Keenan, Johnny Irwin, and Joe Amsler
• When it happened: December 8, 1963
• Who was kidnapped: Frank Sinatra Jr.

Being taken as a child is a harrowing experience, but getting kidnapped as a 19-year-old is a bit different. Frank Sinatra Jr. was taken at 19 during a trip to Lake Tahoe. His captors had goals of getting paid out by his father, Frank Sinatra Sr. They wanted $240,000 for his safe return. The older Sinatra paid the ransom, ensuring his son's safe return two days later.

He wouldn't let this event have any control over his life and became a singer just like his dad. The three kidnappers were arrested and sentenced to prison. Barry Keenan, the organizer of the crime, was released and has gone on to have a successful career as a real estate developer. For more crime content, click here to read about the most infamous crime committed in every state.